My mom's actual birthday was April 24th. She turned 60 this year! She insisted on planning her own party, so we celebrated at my parents' house yesterday. My mom threw a nice party for herself! She was pretty excited when she opened the iPod Shuffle that her kids bought for her. She's probably on iTunes right now filling it up - that little thing can hold 1000 songs!
So, happy birthday, Mom! You do so many things that help you stay young - keep it up! You are such an important person in your family and other people's lives. Always remember how much you are needed and loved.
(Please continue to scroll down to view the other posts added today. Thanks!)
Sunday, April 26, 2009
This week in sports
The boys' bowling league ended the day we left for Florida. It was unfortunate that they missed the last day and couldn't collect their trophies in person, but since we were on our way down to Disney World they didn't mind not being there. Since Jason's dad is one of the coaches, he was there that day. Grandpa brought their trophies home for them. Both of their teams won 2nd place this season. Kyle got another trophy for being "most improved". This was his first season without bumpers. He started the season with an average in the 40's, but ended with one in the 60's. He bowled many games that were in the 90's! We saw a lot of improvement in Justin's scores too. It's becoming rare for him to bowl a double digit game.
Kyle is back in soccer again this spring. He played two years ago, but there's like no skill when 5-year olds play. The team he's on now is 6 & 7-year olds. Still not a lot of skill, but they seem to go in the right direction and actually go after the ball instead of just standing around looking at it. They played their first game yesterday. Kyle was the MVP!!! He scored the first goal of the season for his team! AND it was the only goal his team scored yesterday. Not only that, but Kyle played goalie for a quarter of the game. While he was playing that position, the opposing team didn't score! He was very proud of himself! He really seems to enjoy soccer and will probably continue to play for years to come.
Kyle is back in soccer again this spring. He played two years ago, but there's like no skill when 5-year olds play. The team he's on now is 6 & 7-year olds. Still not a lot of skill, but they seem to go in the right direction and actually go after the ball instead of just standing around looking at it. They played their first game yesterday. Kyle was the MVP!!! He scored the first goal of the season for his team! AND it was the only goal his team scored yesterday. Not only that, but Kyle played goalie for a quarter of the game. While he was playing that position, the opposing team didn't score! He was very proud of himself! He really seems to enjoy soccer and will probably continue to play for years to come.
Shamu
I mentioned a couple weeks ago that the only part of Sea World that I really liked was the Shamu show. The show actually stars several killer whales, but Shamu is the headliner. It seems that because he is so much larger than the others, he doesn't do all the tricks that the smaller ones do. The trainers make a big deal when it's Shamu's turn to swim out. They make the audience chant "Shamu, Shamu". Then he swims out and splashes every part of the audience with his HUGE whale tale. The other whales do a dance routine with the trainers, jump and flip out of the water, and let the trainers surf on them. At the beginning of the show they play a video about working with these animals. The trainers never TELL the whales what to do, they ASK them! It's very dangerous, since NOTHING in the ocean hunts the killer whale. They're beautiful animals with a peaceful look, but looks are deceiving...
These two pictures really let you see the size difference. The first picture is Shamu, of course.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Cool school news
Obviously last week was Justin and Kyle's spring break. Just prior to that they got their 3rd quarter report cards. With only one quarter left, Justin has nothing but A's on his report card! He also received three awards: perfect attendance, certificate of achievement from his teacher for his grades and being a great example, and once again, the principal's award for having the best grades in his class. Just awesome!
Kyle continues to be WAY above his grade level in reading. He also meets and exceeds the standards for all of his subjects. His teacher commented that Kyle is enthusiastic and a good role model. More importantly, while we were out of town, we received a letter in the mail from the school. It was a recommendation for Kyle to join the challenge program in our school district when he begins 2nd grade in the fall! His only concern is that he will have to go to a different school. However, I think he's excited about it being accelerated. Needless to say, Jason and I are consenting to it and congratulate him! We know he'll do well.
Kyle continues to be WAY above his grade level in reading. He also meets and exceeds the standards for all of his subjects. His teacher commented that Kyle is enthusiastic and a good role model. More importantly, while we were out of town, we received a letter in the mail from the school. It was a recommendation for Kyle to join the challenge program in our school district when he begins 2nd grade in the fall! His only concern is that he will have to go to a different school. However, I think he's excited about it being accelerated. Needless to say, Jason and I are consenting to it and congratulate him! We know he'll do well.
Disney's Animal Kingdom
Although the Magic Kingdom is my favorite of the Disney parks, I really wa
nted to talk about Animal Kingdom. We hadn't planned on going there at all, but since we had access we couldn't resist. It turns out that we were all glad we went.
In order to see most of the animals we had to go on a safari. It was a truck that a guide was actually driving. That's where we observed the antelope, rhinos, giraffes, and a couple lions in their "natural" habitats. This giraffe was just walking along the side of the road right next to our truck!
We also went to a bird show. I'm not a bird lover, but it's cool to see things like vultures and owls flying around right in front of you. These colorful macaws flew out at t
he end. We also asked someone to take this family photo of us which turned out nice. 
But the most exciting part of the day took place inside that mountain in the background of that one picture. That's the roller coaster called Expedition Everest. It doesn't go upside down, but does go backwards. It goes backwards because a Yeti has torn up the track! It was pretty wild for a Disney ride. Justin was very nervous before going on it mainly because he knew it was going to go backwards. He saw it on the Disney network at the resort. He tried to tell us, but Jason and I didn't exactly believe him. Oops!
Well, we all loved it anyway! I'll never forget how fast and loud Justin was talking after we got off - major adrenaline rush! We all had dry throats and had to buy a bottle of water. At a gift shop, we found these Yeti stuffed animals and bought them for the boys as a reward. After all , when Jason and I were their ages, we would've NEVER gone on that roller coaster! We told them that after we rode it.
nted to talk about Animal Kingdom. We hadn't planned on going there at all, but since we had access we couldn't resist. It turns out that we were all glad we went.In order to see most of the animals we had to go on a safari. It was a truck that a guide was actually driving. That's where we observed the antelope, rhinos, giraffes, and a couple lions in their "natural" habitats. This giraffe was just walking along the side of the road right next to our truck!
We also went to a bird show. I'm not a bird lover, but it's cool to see things like vultures and owls flying around right in front of you. These colorful macaws flew out at t
he end. We also asked someone to take this family photo of us which turned out nice. 
But the most exciting part of the day took place inside that mountain in the background of that one picture. That's the roller coaster called Expedition Everest. It doesn't go upside down, but does go backwards. It goes backwards because a Yeti has torn up the track! It was pretty wild for a Disney ride. Justin was very nervous before going on it mainly because he knew it was going to go backwards. He saw it on the Disney network at the resort. He tried to tell us, but Jason and I didn't exactly believe him. Oops!
Well, we all loved it anyway! I'll never forget how fast and loud Justin was talking after we got off - major adrenaline rush! We all had dry throats and had to buy a bottle of water. At a gift shop, we found these Yeti stuffed animals and bought them for the boys as a reward. After all , when Jason and I were their ages, we would've NEVER gone on that roller coaster! We told them that after we rode it.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
We're back!
Well, our sunny Florida vacation is over. Sigh. We're all glad to be back home, but we miss Disney
World. We 
stayed at one of the Disney resorts for four days. It was the greatest! Not only was it unbelievably beautiful, but so convenient! We had our car since we drove down there, but didn't get in it for four days because of the shuttle bus service that comes with staying at one of the resorts. All we had to do was walk to the depot and wait for a bus that was going to the park we wanted. While there, we visited the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Animal Kingdom, and Disney's Hollywood Studios. Justin and Kyle found out that they love roller coasters! It was just so much fun!
Before coming back home, we spent a day at Sea World too. After being treated like royalty at Disney, it was kind of a disappointment to Jason and me. Justin and Kyle didn't notice and they liked it. However, Jason and I loved the Shamu the killer whale show. That was awesome! Shamu is huge!Needless to say, we took a ton of pictures. About 400. Obviously I can't post all of them. I'll post a couple now and come back to post more later.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)